


so, you want to slay a dragon?

by vernsbf



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Fairy Tale Elements, M/M, Magic, Middle Ages, Royalty, bartender seyoon, donghun thinks he's a knight but he rly isnt, i'll add tags as i add chapters, there is another relationship in this but i dont think i wanna spoil it, witch junhee
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-02 23:59:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19452184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vernsbf/pseuds/vernsbf
Summary: Seyoon is a simple man, with simple wants. He WANTS to stay at home and study plants, but his loudass friend Donghun has other plans. Dragon-slaying plans. Oh, Yuchan is there too.OR in which Byeongkwan isn't exactly what a trio of explorers expected to encounter on their journey.“Holy shit! Is that a fucking dragon?!”“Yeah, how about we scream and let it know we’re here, idiot!”“Guys, I wanna go back!”





	1. There's no way this is dangerous, right?

**Author's Note:**

> i really wanted to do like. a chaptered fic. since i never finish my long ones. and i have a lot of ideas for this so!!! i'll try to update it once a week....... i hope

There were tales of a beautiful maiden, locked away in a tower that rested among the depths of the Pixie Wood. Many a brave knight had ventured deep into the wood in search of the maiden, and few had returned. Those few told dramatic tales in which hid dragons and swordfights, near death experiences, witches and treasures. No one was quite sure which tales were true, anymore. Most people recited these tales in dramatized voices over campfires at the village festivals, stretching the story even farther than its original state. It is believed by some that the maiden was none other than the princess, who had vanished from the castle years ago. The king was stricken with grief and closed off the kingdom, leaving the surrounding villages isolated from their once joyful and generous monarch. Some ventured into the wood seeking the princess, either to bring back the king they once knew, or to wed her upon rescuing. Others had different ideas. Seyoon was one of the others. 

“Come with me!” Donghun pleaded, slamming down his mug of ale. “I don’t want to go in there by myself!”

“Why not? You’ve got a whole suit of armor and everything. I could hear you stomping over here from the other side of the village. You’ll be fine.” Seyoon scoffed, irritated. His best friend was helplessly fixated on the idea of marrying the princess, even if it meant killing the dragon that was rumored to protect her. 

“You’ve been in the Pixie Wood more than I have.” He watched as Seyoon cleaned his mug, then began to wipe down the counter of the tavern. He’d worked here longer than Donghun even knew him, inheriting it from his father before he’d even learned to fight. If he had ever even learned to fight, that is. “With your tedious  _ herbogolies _ , or whatever it is you call it.”

“It’s  _ herbology _ ,” Seyoon corrected, folding his arms. “And it’s actually really interesting, if you’d listen to me about it. I made a medicine for Yuchan last week, and it worked. So it isn’t tedious.” 

“Please come with me? Yuchan said he wouldn’t go unless you did, and if I go alone, I might not come back.” Donghun begged. “There could be a  _ dragon. _ You want me to be safe, right? I’ll cover your shifts at the tavern for a week!” He tried every tactic he could think of.

“So, you want to slay a dragon?” Donghun nodded frantically. “Fine, but only if you cover me for two weeks. I’m out of blue ferns anyway.” Seyoon huffed and abandoned the counter, trudging up the stairs to his dimly lit room. It wasn’t much, it was meant to be a storage space for the tavern but he had to sell his nearby hut when his father passed so he could make ends meet. He grabbed his leather bag and dumped it onto the blankets he used as a sleeping space, sifting through the contents and only grabbing what he deemed important. His plant journal, his journal of creatures he encountered in the wood, a few empty jars and small knives, things Donghun would surely laugh at him for. He left his bag mostly empty, tossing in some dried meats and flasks of water on the way out. 

  
  


When Seyoon left the tavern and hung the  _ CLOSED _ sign on the door, Yuchan and Donghun were having a fake brawl on the grass outside. Thankfully, Donghun’s sword was sheathed, and the two were hitting long sticks together in lieu of weaponry. Last time they had a real brawl, Yuchan came out of it with a pretty awful wound that Seyoon had to tend to. 

“Did either of you idiots think to bring food?” He asked, as Donghun fell to his knees in mock defeat. Yuchan tossed his stick and opened his pack, revealing an assortment of breads and fruits. “Thank god.”

“Donghun only brought weapons.” Yuchan accused. In response to this, Donghun scrunched up his face and started toward the forest. Yuchan quickly followed suit, leaving Seyoon to take the hint and tail behind them. He sighed and tucked his hair behind his ears, wondering why he even bothered to tag along on Donghun’s (seemingly) ridiculous quest.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


The woods appeared harmless, the three goofing around as they trekked through the trees, stopping occasionally for Seyoon to analyze some plants and toss them in his pack. He was taking diligent notes whenever a creature was encountered, often finding interest in things the other two seemed not to even notice. Pixie Wood was named so for a reason, and Seyoon caught glimpses of many different fae that galavanted around the foliage. Yuchan noticed them sometimes, but Donghun was completely oblivious to the magical creatures. 

“Donghun, there’s something on your shoulder.” Yuchan warned, almost scared to interact. All he did was brush the small sprite off and continue on their journey. Seyoon was amazed at his nonchalance. He knew Donghun to be quite easily scared in these situations, but his fixation on finding this rumored princess seemed to give him a newfound bravery as they were lured deeper into the wood by their own foolish curiosity. It was only when the world around them began to darken with the thick canopy that the three collectively became a bit uneasy. Seyoon was the first to notice.

“There’s something following us.” He whispered. “Don’t look at it. Don’t alarm it. Just keep going.” The two of course ignored him and looked, scanning the forest in a panic. Seyoon pushed both of them forward, smacking the back of their heads. “Don’t  _ look _ at it, are you even listening?” 

“What is it?” Yuchan asked. His voice was small. Afraid.

“Will it hurt us?” Donghun asked, his voice even smaller.

“I don’t know. Just keep going.” Seyoon felt a chill run up his spine. Against his better judgement, he dared a glance, catching the eyes of… something. He felt his blood run cold and looked away quickly. He was unsure of what he saw, but whatever it was, he didn’t fucking like it. He had a creeping feeling it didn’t like him either.


	2. A witch in the woods?

It wasn’t an abnormal day. Everything was as it always is. Pixies frolicked among the garden, sun twinkled between the leaves, the woods were at peace. That is, until Junhee felt his skin crawling with discomfort. Something was off. He gently pressed his palm against the tree outside his hut, closing his eyes and listening to the world around him. Every tree in this forest was connected by the roots, and if one knew how to focus on the whispers in the veins of the earth, it was possible to overhear every footfall. He heard the usual, titters of conversation between sprites, rabbits and squirrels running about, the stream on the other side of the tower, and he was relieved. It was short lived, the second he felt himself relax, the words “...if we slay a  _ dragon _ !!!” bubbled faintly in his ears. His eyes snapped open. He felt an anger growing deep inside him, and he threw himself to the source of the sound.

The world wobbled as he altered his place, and when he became stable enough to move again, he found himself quite a distance from his hut, dark eyes fixing on three men. One was clearly the leader, clad in iron armor and wielding a sword. His hair was dark, tinted red with berries he  _ absolutely _ stole from Junhee’s forest. He shifted his eyes to another. He was slightly taller, and walked with an aura of mischief. Junhee found this admirable. He fawned over the armored man, showing a clear respect for him. Finally, Junhee’s eyes landed on the third. His hair was bleached from the sun, a faint scent of lemon juice seeped off of him and into the wood around the three, attracting more attention than he probably intended. He had been admiring a mushroom, which was definitely filled with poisons and completely inedible, but he seemed to understand the properties well enough to gently slice off the stem and plop it into his bag. Junhee found this interesting, most of the village people don’t know much about these things. The man examined a patch of moss on a tree, scraping a pit off with the knife in his hand. This is when he froze. He felt Junhee’s sharp gaze focusing on him, surely, but he simply turned his head and continued walking. 

“ _ We _ won’t be slaying anything, Yuchan. I’m the one with the sword.” The red haired man remarked. So they  _ were _ heading to the tower. Junhee found that odd, since the thick headed men that wanted... whatever it was, usually came alone. It was easier to kill them when they were alone. Men are foolish like this, in Junhee’s opinion. To be fair, he was a bit biased, since these same thick headed men killed his mother for practicing witchcraft when he was only a child, leaving him to flee into the woods atop some poor sheep that was devoured by-

  
  


“Don’t  _ look  _ at it, are you even listening?” The light haired man snapped, smacking the other two. Their voices became quiet after that. Too quiet to hear. Junhee continued to follow them, waiting for a sign to attack. The light haired man turned to look, and Junhee made no effort to hide. He knew they would be afraid. Sure enough, he turned back around and hurried along, nervously chewing on a piece of bread from the one called Yuchan’s pack.

As they grew closer to the tower, Junhee found himself growing tense. He had a single friend in this world, and he wasn’t about to put that friend in danger. He was running out of options. The closer they got, the less he could do. He thought hard for a moment before deciding. He knew one name. That was all he needed.

“Yuchan.” He whispered. It blew through the air like smoke, sliding effortlessly into the tall man’s ears. “He’s going to kill you with that sword. You should kill him first.” He watched as Yuchan’s feet screeched to a halt. He suddenly seemed very uneasy, very afraid. 

“Channie? What’s wrong?” The light haired man asked, reaching out to touch his arm. Yuchan pushed him off, backing away. 

“He wants to kill us.” He accused, pointing a finger at the man with the sword. Junhee watched eagerly as chaos ensued, the two fighting for a grip on some sort of weaponry. It really was amusing, watching two men fight like this. He was so absorbed in it that he didn’t even notice the light haired man glaring right at him through the trees. What the hell. He had completely missed when the man scanned the surrounding wood and locked onto his location, squinting into the darkness around him. Junhee smiled and held his hands up in a playful surrender, vanishing into the trees.

  
“Yuchan, breathe. We don’t have time for this if we want to be home by sundown, and we _do_ want to be home by sundown, right?” Yuchan sighed and released his grip on the weapon, folding his arms and continuing on their way. Junhee figured if he couldn’t stop them, he would at least warn his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh yikes this chapter is short


	3. I hope that's not a curse

_ “Holy shit! Is that a fucking dragon?!” _

_ “Yeah, how about we scream and let it know we’re here, idiot!” _

_ “Guys, I wanna go back!” _

  
  


Byeongkwan’s eyes were heavy with sleep. Voices blew across the sky like smoke in the wind, reaching his sensitive ears and rousing him from his rest. He huffed and sat up in his bed, glaring at the window. Yes, it was mid-afternoon, but he found it easier to exist among the night, as summer drew nearer and the days grew hotter. His nose wrinkled at the smell of something rotten, narrowing his eyes as a swirl of black smoke formed at the end of his bed.

“There’s people in the woods.” Junhee reported, his face solidifying before the rest of him. Byeongkwan sighed and threw a pillow at him.

“Yeah, no shit. They’re screaming their lungs out.” He paced toward the window groggily, still trying to rid his mind of sleep. “What do they want?” 

“What do you think? They never want anything else.” Junhee peered over his shoulder, watching the three men approach the clearing in which the small castle (often referred to as a tower,) stood proudly. The men gawked and stared and seemed to bicker for a moment, much quieter this time.

“Can’t you just scare them away? Jason gets indigestion from all the stupidity.” Byeongkwan pouted, thinking of the time his poor dragon coughed up scraps of metal for weeks. Junhee plopped down on the bed.

“You think I didn’t try?” Junhee asked. Byeongkwan gave him a look. “Fine. I’ll curse one of them, or something. Does that work?”

“Don’t hurt anyone.” Junhee returned the look. “Okay, only hurt them if they try to hurt Jason. Only one of them is armed.” Byeongkwan watched as his friend vanished into another swirl of smoke and appeared before his home. The armed man dropped his sword. Pathetic.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Donghun scrambled to pick his sword back up, holding it out in front of him boldly. Seyoon and Yuchan watched in fear as he lunged forward, attacking the  _ creature _ in front of them. The creature took the form of a dark haired, dark eyed man, with sharp features and quite an attractive face. It grabbed the end of Donghun’s sword without flinching, and whispered something to itself. The whispers took a physical form, ribbons of black flowing through the air and connecting their mouths from a distance, sliding deep into Donghun’s throat. He choked, gasping for a single breath but found none. A wave of dizziness hit him and he stumbled, still swinging his sword, before his eyes glazed over and he dropped to his knees. Before he could fully collapse, he heaved and he coughed and he spat out a crumpled black flower, watching as it slowly melted away into his palm. Black sank into his skin, into his veins, and he could feel himself growing cold. The creature vanished on the wind, its eerie laugh carried on the breeze as he faded into nothing. 

“Donghun!?” Yuchan cried, rushing over to his friend. “I’m taking you back to the village, okay? It’s not worth it anymore.” Donghun had no choice but to agree, struggling to his feet and letting himself be half-dragged back into the woods. 

“I’ll catch up,” Seyoon called behind him, waiting for his friends to vanish into the trees. He couldn’t resist the temptation of documenting this experience, pulling out his journal and sketching the creature before him in rushed detail. He also drew a few images of the strange smokey man, jotting down some things he noticed before he left. He felt himself growing more and more curious, which was definitely not the best thing to be feeling in the presence of a great beast such as this. He tucked his things back into his bag and slowly approached, reaching out to touch the sleeping monster before him. His hands traced along cracked skin and scattered scales, feeling the warmth of the beast seeping through the thick shell. He was completely wonderstruck, so amazed and entranced by the beautiful creature, he almost didn’t notice the white haired elf peeking out from the uppermost window. As he turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of the most beautiful man he’d ever seen, but pushed it to the back of his mind when he remembered his friend’s peril.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes the dragon is named jason. i couldnt resist
> 
> kinda maybe thinking possibly donghun isn't doing that great but its cool. im working hard on getting this all together so theres like. stuff to read before i get real deep into the plotline but its hard..... i hope people actually enjoy this as much as i do though


	4. Befriending a dragon?

“I’m going back.” Seyoon declared, hastily packing another bag. Donghun’s condition was deteriorating  _ fast _ , black spreading through his veins at an alarming rate. 

“Are you stupid? You’ll get killed if you go alone!” Yuchan hissed, cradling the poor man’s head in his lap and gently stroking his hair. “Donghun needs us here, I don’t know how much longer he has. I… I’m scared, Seyoon.” His eyes brimmed with tears and Donghun looked up at him weekly. 

“Maybe I am stupid, but the only way we can fix this is if I can find the thing that did this to him and get him to undo it. If that’s even possible.” He sighed, flicking through his journal.

“He’s right.” Donghun croaked, sounding absolutely pathetic. “Please, Seyoon.” He reached out and touched the blonde’s hand. His skin was cold.

“I have to go. I’m not just going to sit here and watch him die.” And with that, Seyoon was out the door, marching into the woods as if it was the most important thing he had ever done in his life. It damn well might’ve been.

As Seyoon trudged along, he took note of things seeming… odd. It was quiet, much quieter than it should have been, but he paid it no mind, storming through the woods with a blind determination. He kept his guard up, analyzing every shift and every shadow, tracing protective symbols on the palms of his hands. It wasn’t until he was close to the tower that the creature appeared in front of him. 

“I don’t believe we’ve properly met,” He grinned, eyes gleaming. He seemed to constantly emit a thin veil of black mist, giving himself a very ominous aura. He stretched out his hand. “May I have your name?” Seyoon blinked, glaring daggers into the humanoid being in front of him.

“No, you may not  _ have _ my name. It belongs to me, and it’s going to stay that way.” He snapped back. The “man” in front of him stared back in shock, almost as if this was the first time someone saw through his tricks. “Would you mind telling me yours, though?” He folded his arms. The man smiled.

“You may call me Jun, if you wish to know so badly, but it  _ is  _ quite rude not to share yours as well?” He pulled back his hand, folding his arms to mirror Seyoon. The latter searched his brain, trying to find a name that would hold no power. 

“You can address me as Wow, _if you wish to know so badly._ ” He mocked. “I’m here because you hurt my friend, and I’d like you to undo whatever it is you did to him, please.” Jun laughed, but Seyoon held his ground.   
  
“Well, _Wow_ , I don’t think you’re in any position to request anything from me, as you and your friends were the ones trespassing in my woods.” He thought for a moment, licking his lips before breaking into a grin. “If you’d like to strike a deal, perhaps I would consider it.”

“What kind of deal?” Seyoon narrowed his eyes.

“Firstly, if you can convince the occupant of the tower you can be trusted, we can discuss it. But he doesn’t budge easily.” And before Jun could even finish his sentence, Seyoon was marching off to the tower, head held high. 

* * *

“Excuse me?” Seyoon rapped on the door of the tower, eyeing the slumbering dragon just a few feet away. He knocked and knocked, but no one answered. He huffed and made his way over to the large lizard, striking up a conversation. 

“Can you believe how rude this guy is?” He gestures to the tower, plopping down in front of the dragon, no trace of fear anywhere in him. The creature blinked an eye open before readjusting to place his head in Seyoon’s lap. He pet the dragon gently, continuing to speak in a calm tone. “I come all the way out here to talk to him, and he won’t even answer the door? How busy can he be? He sits in this tower all day, probably doesn’t even pay attention to you, and he  _ finally _ gets a guest, but oh no! He’s much too busy for us, right?” The dragon grumbles a bit, rolling over onto its side. 

“Why are you here?” A slender elf stands with his arms folded, glaring down at Seyoon. He quickly stands and brushes a few scales off of his pants.

“Well, your  _ friend _ out there in the woods put some sort of hex on  _ my _ friend,” He begins angrily, “and he has the nerve, the  _ audacity _ , to tell me to come talk to you, after I come  _ all the way out here _ , and ask  _ you _ to get him to fix it, when you have  _ nothing to do with the situation _ -” He’s cut off with a laugh. 

“Junhee really asked you to talk to me? What a piece of shit. Do you wanna come inside? I have tea.” And that’s how Seyoon met Byeongkwan, an exiled elven prince from the next kingdom over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is rly turning into a crack fic..... ugh. i kind of hate how this is turning out
> 
> also i know this chapter is short and im sorry but i like,,,,,,, kind of dont like this anymore and its my own fault for rushing it


End file.
